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United Healthcare Data Breach: What & How It Happened?

United Healthcare Data Breach: What & How It Happened?

Twingate Team

Jun 14, 2024

In February 2024, UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare unit encountered a notable incident. The situation led to a considerable payment and had extensive effects on the industry. UnitedHealth has been working on identifying and notifying those affected, as well as offering various forms of assistance. The event has had significant financial repercussions for numerous organizations, and the complete impact is still being evaluated.

How many accounts were compromised?

The breach impacted data related to 131 million patients.

What data was leaked?

The data exposed in the breach included sensitive information such as names, addresses, medical codes, insurance numbers, protected health information (PHI), and personally identifiable information (PII).

How was United Healthcare hacked?

Hackers targeted UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare unit with a ransomware attack, stealing several terabytes of data, including medical, insurance, claims, payment records, and patient identifiers such as social security numbers. The specific methods used by the hackers and investigation findings remain unclear.

United Healthcare's solution

In response to the hack, UnitedHealth Group took several measures to address the situation and protect affected individuals. These actions included conducting a thorough review of the data involved, offering support and robust protections to potentially impacted individuals, and collaborating with leading industry experts to analyze the data. Additionally, UnitedHealth Group made significant progress in restoring Change Healthcare services, with pharmacy services, medical claims, and payment processing returning to near-normal levels. While specific enhanced security measures remain unclear, the company's focus on supporting affected individuals and restoring services demonstrates their commitment to addressing the consequences of the cyberattack.

How do I know if I was affected?

UnitedHealth Group has been working on identifying and notifying affected individuals. If you believe you may have been impacted by the breach but have not received a notification, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.

What should affected users do?

In general, affected users should:

  • Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.

  • Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.

  • Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

  • Monitor Your Accounts: Keep a close eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity. Report any unauthorized transactions or changes to your account information immediately.

For more specific help and instructions related to UnitedHealthcare's data breach, please contact UnitedHealthcare Support directly.

Where can I go to learn more?

If you want to find more information on the United Healthcare data breach, check out the following news articles:

Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.

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United Healthcare Data Breach: What & How It Happened?

United Healthcare Data Breach: What & How It Happened?

Twingate Team

Jun 14, 2024

In February 2024, UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare unit encountered a notable incident. The situation led to a considerable payment and had extensive effects on the industry. UnitedHealth has been working on identifying and notifying those affected, as well as offering various forms of assistance. The event has had significant financial repercussions for numerous organizations, and the complete impact is still being evaluated.

How many accounts were compromised?

The breach impacted data related to 131 million patients.

What data was leaked?

The data exposed in the breach included sensitive information such as names, addresses, medical codes, insurance numbers, protected health information (PHI), and personally identifiable information (PII).

How was United Healthcare hacked?

Hackers targeted UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare unit with a ransomware attack, stealing several terabytes of data, including medical, insurance, claims, payment records, and patient identifiers such as social security numbers. The specific methods used by the hackers and investigation findings remain unclear.

United Healthcare's solution

In response to the hack, UnitedHealth Group took several measures to address the situation and protect affected individuals. These actions included conducting a thorough review of the data involved, offering support and robust protections to potentially impacted individuals, and collaborating with leading industry experts to analyze the data. Additionally, UnitedHealth Group made significant progress in restoring Change Healthcare services, with pharmacy services, medical claims, and payment processing returning to near-normal levels. While specific enhanced security measures remain unclear, the company's focus on supporting affected individuals and restoring services demonstrates their commitment to addressing the consequences of the cyberattack.

How do I know if I was affected?

UnitedHealth Group has been working on identifying and notifying affected individuals. If you believe you may have been impacted by the breach but have not received a notification, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.

What should affected users do?

In general, affected users should:

  • Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.

  • Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.

  • Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

  • Monitor Your Accounts: Keep a close eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity. Report any unauthorized transactions or changes to your account information immediately.

For more specific help and instructions related to UnitedHealthcare's data breach, please contact UnitedHealthcare Support directly.

Where can I go to learn more?

If you want to find more information on the United Healthcare data breach, check out the following news articles:

Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.

United Healthcare Data Breach: What & How It Happened?

Twingate Team

Jun 14, 2024

In February 2024, UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare unit encountered a notable incident. The situation led to a considerable payment and had extensive effects on the industry. UnitedHealth has been working on identifying and notifying those affected, as well as offering various forms of assistance. The event has had significant financial repercussions for numerous organizations, and the complete impact is still being evaluated.

How many accounts were compromised?

The breach impacted data related to 131 million patients.

What data was leaked?

The data exposed in the breach included sensitive information such as names, addresses, medical codes, insurance numbers, protected health information (PHI), and personally identifiable information (PII).

How was United Healthcare hacked?

Hackers targeted UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare unit with a ransomware attack, stealing several terabytes of data, including medical, insurance, claims, payment records, and patient identifiers such as social security numbers. The specific methods used by the hackers and investigation findings remain unclear.

United Healthcare's solution

In response to the hack, UnitedHealth Group took several measures to address the situation and protect affected individuals. These actions included conducting a thorough review of the data involved, offering support and robust protections to potentially impacted individuals, and collaborating with leading industry experts to analyze the data. Additionally, UnitedHealth Group made significant progress in restoring Change Healthcare services, with pharmacy services, medical claims, and payment processing returning to near-normal levels. While specific enhanced security measures remain unclear, the company's focus on supporting affected individuals and restoring services demonstrates their commitment to addressing the consequences of the cyberattack.

How do I know if I was affected?

UnitedHealth Group has been working on identifying and notifying affected individuals. If you believe you may have been impacted by the breach but have not received a notification, you can visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.

What should affected users do?

In general, affected users should:

  • Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.

  • Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.

  • Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on any affected accounts. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

  • Monitor Your Accounts: Keep a close eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity. Report any unauthorized transactions or changes to your account information immediately.

For more specific help and instructions related to UnitedHealthcare's data breach, please contact UnitedHealthcare Support directly.

Where can I go to learn more?

If you want to find more information on the United Healthcare data breach, check out the following news articles: